Collapse, Kaslana's Way of Survival

Theresa suddenly stopped, swallowed, and looked at Kainuo with a slightly suspicious and wary look.

"Um, little Kaino. Normally, you don't use that feather to create illusions and play weird games in them, do you?"

"What are you thinking about, my period? Yu Duchen, I don't usually need it."

Kainuo snapped his fingers after giving his aunt a slap on the head in annoyance.

Time starts flowing again.

Chapter 112 The transaction is over

"These are... incubation chambers?"

After the door opened, Theresa rushed in first.

Glancing around at the surroundings, she ignored Einstein and Tesla behind her and walked to one of the incubators to check the situation inside.

A pure white figure, who had been sleeping for who knows how long, was floating quietly in it. The familiar appearance made Theresa frown.

Although she was a little upset by the fact that there were so many clones below her own school, she still tried to remain calm.

No matter what, you must never lose your composure in negotiations. Only in this way can you seize the initiative.

Besides, the Xilin Project is already a thing of the past.

"Is this a clone of Kiana? If your confidence is just the Sirin Project, then there's nothing to say. I've known about this for a long time... Wait."

Theresa, whose eyes had never left the clone, suddenly noticed something was wrong. She took a step forward and leaned against the incubator to carefully examine the clone.

She slowly widened her eyes.

"It's not Kiana—it's Cecilia?!"

Although she looks very similar to Kiana, it is indeed Cecilia!

"I'm glad you noticed that yourself. I thought I needed to explain it to you."

Seeing Theresa's slightly out-of-control look, Einstein nodded slightly.

"Then let me explain to you what is going on."

She took a few steps forward slowly and stood behind Theresa, her tone calm and convincing.

"First of all, I need to explain that Ms. Cecilia's blood is very special. It can neutralize Honkai energy. It is not difficult to completely eliminate Honkai energy in an instant."

"Perhaps it was because of this that the Great Collapse caused by Sirin's self-explosion during the Second Collapse didn't kill many people."

"You mean...?"

Theresa took a deep breath, turned around and stared at Einstein.

Einstein nodded.

"That's right. Such a powerful weapon, if used well, can easily kill even a Herrscher. It's obvious that Otto won't give up such a powerful weapon."

"So, after Ms. Cecilia's death, before you became the principal of St. Freya Academy, this laboratory was constantly operating to recreate Cecilia's miraculous blood."

Looking at Theresa, who remained silent but with a flickering look in her eyes, Einstein continued:

"Ms. Cecilia is very important to you, right? But Otto still conducted experiments on her without your knowledge, and had no intention of telling you at all, just like the Sirin Project back then. If it weren't for this anti-entropy invasion, this secret would have been buried forever."

"In that case, Ms. Theresa, are you sure that Otto won't use clones of your loved ones again, or even experiment on your relatives?"

At this point, Einstein shook his head again.

"No, that's not right. You should know whether Otto would do that or not. After all..."

"That's enough. I know much better than you what extent Grandpa will go to. Let's stop here."

Theresa's crisp voice interrupted Einstein.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she looked at Einstein again with a scrutinizing look in her eyes.

"I admit this incident was beyond my expectations. So, tell me, what does this have to do with me letting you go?"

"Cooperation."

Einstein's voice was cold.

"If Otto ever attacks your family or friends, Anti-Entropy will become a sharp weapon hidden in the dark, unknown to Otto. Perhaps it will play a crucial role at some point."

"To protect your loved ones, I believe Ms. Theresa knows what to choose."

"To protect the ones you love?"

Theresa repeated Einstein's words in a low voice, and suddenly her eyes lit up and she sneered.

"It's a beautiful slogan, like fighting for the good of the world—back when you tricked Siegfried, you used a similar excuse, right?"

"But I don't need to explain the final result. Kiana and Kaino both... humph."

Theresa's voice became colder as she spoke.

"If it weren't for the promise you made to Siegfried, I believe he, with his two children, would never have done something like snatching a fighter plane and escaping, and his family wouldn't have ended up like this. Anti-Entropy already failed to keep its promise once, so how can I trust you?"

"...I'm deeply sorry about this. I know an apology won't solve anything, but offering this apology is what Anti-Entropy should do."

Einstein lowered his head slightly and spoke in a slightly lower tone.

"But Anti-Entropy, who only made one mistake, is still better than Otto, who has a long history, right? Not to mention that we had experience working together during the Second Honkai Impact."

"Besides, having this backup plan is better than having nothing at all. If you detain us, you'll get nothing."

"Your reasons are quite convincing. I even wonder if your initial decision to invade Saint Freya was specifically to negotiate a partnership with me. But you're right, and I agree with you."

Contrary to Einstein's expectations, Theresa didn't continue to argue. Instead, she nodded readily. Her face was expressionless, but the anger she had previously displayed was gone.

After four or five years, Theresa had expected that the knot in her heart would be much smaller, but the other party looked like he didn't care at all?

Einstein suddenly began to wonder if he had misjudged the person.

Without caring about Einstein's reaction, Theresa coughed lightly, her eyes a little vague.

"But if you want to regain our trust, it's not enough for me to just agree. You also have to show your sincerity."

"...Moonlight Throne. Anti-Entropy has a ship called the Moonlight Throne, which can have an effect similar to that of Lady Cecilia's blood."

Taking a deep breath, Einstein remained silent for a moment before continuing the conversation.

But Theresa just shook her head slightly.

"Who knows what the Moonlight Throne is? It's just your one-sided account after all. Besides, how can you give us such a large thing?"

"Besides, I don't feel your sincerity. If this continues, I'll have to reconsider whether to let you go."

Shrugging her shoulders and crossing her arms, Theresa looked up at the ceiling and then looked back at Einstein.

"The man my grandfather sent me said that your leader once said he knew the movements of all the Kaslana people. I assume that includes Siegfried, right?"

"Oh, my eldest niece is going crazy wanting to see her dad. Since you know where he is now, is it okay for you to tell me?"

With a rare twitch of his mouth, Einstein sighed.

"We do know the general whereabouts of Lord Siegfried. He comes to Anti-Entropy's branches in various regions for treatment every once in a while, but I don't know which one specifically."

"If you need it, Ms. Theresa, I will give you Mr. Siegfried's contact information."

"Not bad, not bad. That's very sincere."

Theresa nodded with satisfaction, then smiled sheepishly and coughed lightly.

"Also, I do trust you, but you also know that the masked man up there was sent by Grandpa after all. Although we have a decent personal relationship, I still have to pay you hush money."

"Hey, little dwarf, don't push your luck!"

The red-haired man who had been holding it in at the back couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Who are you calling a shorty? He's obviously older than me, but not much taller than me."

Theresa snorted softly, not taking it seriously.

"After all, you just shared some news about Siegfried, which is something I should have known as Kiana's guardian. So, you're not going to make me pay for the hush money, are you?"

"So, what do you want, Ms. Theresa?"

Einstein asked, stopping the increasingly irritable Tesla behind him.

Theresa blinked when she heard that, and rubbed her right thumb and index finger together.

"We students at Saint Freya's have been through such hard times for too long. We can't eat well and we don't want to sleep... Do you understand what I mean?"

Einstein took a deep breath.

"make a deal."

The world went dark in an instant, and then lit up again after a moment.

The three people who were originally here have disappeared, leaving only Theresa and Kayno standing alone in the basement.

Theresa jumped up and down on the spot, beaming.

"Oh my! Even though it's me in this illusion, it's still me! I've made a killing from Anti-Entropy thanks to the information gap. Saint Freya's research funding is now secured!"

After she finished shouting, she realized that her eldest nephew, who should have responded to her, did not react at all. Theresa was stunned and turned her head, only to find that Kayno was standing in front of Cecilia's incubator, staring at the clone inside.

After hesitating for a moment, Theresa patted Keno's waist to comfort him.

"Little Kainuo, don't be too sad. Grandpa... I'll beat him up with you later!"

Keno, who was hurt by the slap, came to his senses and looked at Theresa's concerned eyes behind him, and he realized that she was overthinking it.

Shaking his head slightly, Kainuo began to explain for his aunt:

"I wasn't thinking about my mother. I just suddenly realized how stupid I was before."

Although it might sound a bit disrespectful to say so, the two years that Kayno was cared for by Cecilia happened to be the two years of his earliest childhood and the most vague of his memories. Although he was a rare person who could remember everything from birth, he didn't have a deep impression of his mother.

At least not as bad as the little girl who lay in the same crib with him and kicked him every day.

Snapping his fingers lightly, Kaino pointed at the clone of Cecilia in front of him, whose hair was dyed a brilliant golden yellow, and couldn't help feeling helpless:

"It's just the hair color that's different, but I didn't recognize her at all until you told me that Yulandel is also part of Bianca's name."

Looking at the face that was exactly the same as Yulandel's, Theresa was also stunned.

When she heard her eldest nephew say that Yulandel was Cecilia, she couldn't believe it. Now she realized how stupid she was before.

She had also seen Yulandel several times, but she hadn't noticed that she looked like Cecilia?!

Chapter 113: The Gatekeeper is Strong

The next day, at the gate of St. Freya Academy.

Fu Hua looked at the application form for leaving school in her hand, adjusted her glasses, and then looked at Kainuo who was standing opposite her.

Without noticing Fu Hua's gaze, Kainuo looked past her and curiously observed the students who were repairing the campus back and forth.

"Kainuo." After politely calling out his name to draw his attention to her, Fu Hua continued, "According to your application, you've been away from school for less than 24 hours, and your vacation is still a long time away. Are you sure you want to return now?"

"You know, although Saint Freya's management is relaxed, the management of students' leave is still quite strict. It is almost impossible to take leave again in such a short period of time."

"By the way, I have a question that has nothing to do with the return to school process. I'm just leaving school for a day and coming back. Is there something important that needs to be done, Kainuo-san?"

"Oh, it's confirmed that we have to go back to school now."

He returned his gaze to Fu Hua, stared at the bandage on her right shoulder for a second, then looked away again.

"I wanted to call Xi'er yesterday to ask what gift to buy her, but I couldn't get through, so I came back... Also, what happened at the academy? I saw a lot of students repairing things."

"Can't get through on the phone? Oh, Saint Freya was invaded by Anti-Entropy last night. Maybe the signal is blocked?"

Shaking her head slightly, Fu Hua stamped the "return to school" stamp on Kainuo's application form and handed it back.

"Just return the application form to the principal. And don't worry. Although the principal's house was severely damaged, Seele and the others were surprisingly unharmed and even managed to subdue one of the intruders."

In order to comfort Kainuo, who looked a little nervous after hearing about the anti-entropy invasion, Fu Hua pointed to the bandage on her shoulder, with a helpless look on her face.

"In comparison, we weren't so lucky. An enemy stronger than an A-rank Valkyrie attacked Kiana and the others' residence. I was injured while running in that battle, and the principal refused to help me, so I was sent here to guard the gate."

"The most crucial thing is that the enemy we defeated with great difficulty was snatched away by someone who appeared out of nowhere, and in the end we were unable to capture him."

"Then squad leader, you are quite unlucky? Ahem."

After a long sigh, Kainuo teased Fu Hua twice, and then asked with concern:

"So are Kiana and the others okay? Is the house damaged?"

"...There's no house, but the anti-entropy executor captured by the academy yesterday seems to have some kind of family relationship with Bronya and Seele. They are now forming a group to see her for the last time before she is sent to headquarters."